This week on the Off The Charts podcast: Buffalo's Tyrod Taylor benching, the decline of the Denver pass defense, and previews of Rams-Vikings and Seahawks-Falcons. Plus, Nick Underhill of The New Orleans Advocate comes on to talk about the New Orleans Saints' suddenly stalwart defense. (Click for audio link.)

I don't even know where to start with this decision. I don't know why the Bills have been so intent on getting rid of Tyrod Taylor, but the time to do it is the offseason not the midseason. The guy is the most underrated quarterback in the game, he's been average this season according to DVOA, and you're going to bench him for a fifth-round rookie? A lot of Bills fans complain that the problem is too many third-down checkdowns to Mike Tolbert. Well, Taylor's ALEX on third down was 4.0 in 2015, 2.6 in 2016, and then 0.1 this year. Maybe the checkdown problem isn't about Taylor himself.

The Rams strengthen their hold on the No. 1 spot by moving to the top on defense as well as special teams. The Saints move up to No. 2 to build a 1-2-3 NFC sweep of the top spots. Plus: A look at teams with a recent trend of improving after slow starts or falling apart after fast starts.

Here's the annual look at the hardest and easiest second-half schedules for playoff contenders. In case you didn't realize how imbalanced the conferences are this year, the hardest schedules are all in the NFC, and the easiest schedules are all in the AFC, with Jacksonville and Kansas City way ahead of everyone else. It's nearly impossible for the Jaguars to miss the playoffs at this point.

Good post here on the Eagles blog "McNabb or Kolb," showing that quarterback performance in the second year seems to predict a player's career a lot better than performance as a rookie. That's very good news for fans of Carson Wentz or Jared Goff.

Hey, after a week off, the Off The Charts podcast has returned! This week's topics: Jared Goff and Carson Wentz, running backs against stacked boxes, and a preview of the Cowboys-Falcons game. (Click for audio link.)

A three-judge panel from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit denied Ezekiel Elliott‘s motion for an injunction blocking his suspension. It will start this Sunday against Atlanta, going through Week 15. Probably. This thing has changed so many times, I have whiplash.

Philadelphia is the most balanced team in the NFL, and Pittsburgh is still our Super Bowl favorite. But right now DVOA says the Los Angeles Rams are the best team in the NFL and possibly the most improved team of the last 30 years.